Soundgarden Ultramega OK LP & 12" Vinyl EP

Remixed & Expanded Album On Vinyl LP - Includes Previously Unreleased Early Versions On Vinyl EP!

This remixed and expanded reissue of Soundgarden’s Ultramega OK is a
long-planned “correction” of the legendary band’s Grammy®-nominated debut
full-length. The album was originally recorded and released in 1988 on SST
Records. While the band enjoyed working with the original producer, Drew
Canulette, they soon realized they weren’t quite happy with the final mix. Thus,
shortly after the album’s release, the band decided to remix the album for
subsequent pressings. However, success intervened: the band rapidly scored a
deal with A&M and began work on their major-label debut, Louder Than Love, and
the Ultramega OK remix project fell by the wayside as Soundgarden climbed their
way to (ultra)mega-stardom. In 2016, after worldwide success, a breakup, a
reunion, and many albums and tours, the band finally acquired the original
multi-track tapes to Ultramega OK and carved out time to dig into the remix.
They handed the tapes over to longtime friend and engineer Jack Endino (Nirvana,
Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Skin Yard), who worked with the band to create a
fresh mix of the album that, for the band, ties up this persistent loose end and
remedies the sound of their debut album. While they were at it, the band dug out
six early versions of tracks that wound up on Ultramega OK. The songs were
recorded in 1987 on 8-track tape by Jack Endino and Chris Hanzsek at Reciprocal
Recording in Seattle, and mixed by Jack Endino in 2016. These versions feature
the band in raw, powerful form –sonically closer to the band’s Endino-recorded
debut EP Screaming Life – and provide a fascinating window into the development
of songs that eventually became staples of the band’s set. The six songs
comprise what the band refers to as Ultramega EP, and they are included in this
reissue. Hailed as grunge innovators, Soundgarden redefined rock music for a
generation. In the ‘80s, the band - singer/guitarist Chris Cornell, guitarist
Kim Thayil, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, and drummer Matt Cameron - combined a punk
ethos, brutal metal soundscapes, and Cornell’s ravenous roar to capture the
attention of the masses. Jagged and ferocious, their music was deeply at odds
with the synth-pop and hair metal which dominated the 80’s airwaves. Early indie
releases, including seminal Screaming Life and Ultramega OK, quickly led to a
dedicated indie following as the band toured on both sides of the Atlantic.
Subsequent albums, including Badmotorfinger, Superunknown, and Down on the
Upside, achieved multi-platinum sales and launched the band to international
fame.